Sensitivity, Hypersensitivity and the Nonsensical

Feb 1, 2011

Both the cat AND the dog are cleaning themselves within a 3 yard radius of where I’m sitting and, at the moment, it feels like the equivalent of having needles stabbed into my pupils. Ok, well, maybe it’s not that bad, but I’ve developed these hypersensitivities that have gotten to a point where they can be maddening to me and, unfortunately, quite irritating to those around me (though I don’t care what the cat or dog think about it… especially the dog – ugh – who is in a state of perpetual cluelessness).

It would seem I hear things 10 times louder than the rest of my family… or, it’s just that I can fine tune into a sound that no one else notices and it reverberates in my head like it’s the only sound in the room. The worst offenders are these disgusting animal licking sounds, chewing sounds (please stop chewing with your mouth open or I may not be able to control this urge to slap you!) and repetitive noises, like finger or foot tapping (who needs nails on a chalkboard? :-/).

Did I imply that this was a “sounds-only” problem? My mistake. Though my vision is increasingly impaired, my sense of taste has been… uh… enhanced as well. Now everything from milk to mayonnaise tastes like a spicy burrito. Yum. I can also smell things that no one else can smell – – come to think of it, I’m kinda like a super hero, but with super powers that are useless and annoying. There is a stink bug somewhere in this house and I need to find it and eradicate it from my surroundings before I vomit! And then I, Super Smeller, [et al] go around the entire house searching for the stink bug like someone who should have men in white coats directly behind her… but no one else can smell what is making me feel queasy. (But first, I grab my glasses.)

Sometimes, it turns out that the dog ATE a stink bug, which then releases this wicked insect’s pungent powers, so it is actually the dog who is spreading the aroma around wherever she goes (along with her shedding fur and her own lovely fragrance), like the %$@* stink fairy that she is. No, I do not like the dog. Most days, I feel like she is an exclamation point at the end of a painful, ironic scream. (Like, “REALLY?!”)

Aside from my fixation on the dog today, I have found some research suggesting that hypersensitivity can be a symptom of Fibromyalgia (and other research ignoring the possibility completely). I have come to rely more on the experiences of other people who actually deal with this illness (Thank you, Leana) as my reference since respectable, reliable studies are few and far between (if you can find them at all). I have also spent the better part of the last two days trying to learn if weather can cause a Fibromyalgia flare – specifically, cold temperature, humidity and/or barometric pressure because, in between my freakish sensory issues, I’m actually couch-bound and in varying intense degrees of actual pain. I can’t help but notice the correlation between lots-o-snow and lots-o-pain. Hmm…

Again, no actual studies, but I have found a lot of “Fibromites” who swear they suffer flares based on the above weather parameters. Thank God for the Internet, eh? :-) And thank God Fibromyalgia has, at least, graduated from the “wastebasket diagnosis” it once was to now garnering some measure of respect among some people.

“A state of perpetual cluelessness”, eh? Can I visit? I don’t have to eat stink bugs there, do I? Do they taste like burritos? ;-)

Ooooooof yes I totally get that, making me shudder even thinking about it!! The worst noise for me is a low running car engine outside, you know if someone stops outside and just stays there with their engine on. Or continuous revving… Ouch it feels like something is scratching my brain with one of those metal things you scrub dishes with (help me out here, brainfog!!). x

Something happened today that made me think of your comment:
I guess a part of my doorbell mechanism got stuck because it was making a loud vibrating hum (kind of like a car revving) ALL AFTERNOON. The thing is mounted on the wall on the other side of the living room… where the couch is…. where I am sitting with my heating pad and electric blanket. “Buzzzzzzzzzzzzz……” (Fibrofog? I’m thinking Xanax!)

Thankfully, my husband disconnected the wires when he came home. Yay, Hubby!

Say it isn’t so, Leana!! Wait, what did I just say? Wow, I had to go re-read what I wrote because I forgot it as soon as I finished typing it….
Sound familiar? ;-) (Man, I know what you’re talking about there, too. Just one delight after another :-/ )

Hi Debi, I’ve been reading the blogs of other people who joined the PostADay2011 Challenge and landed on yours. It’s crazy to commit to writing daily when life keeps popping up with a grin, isn’t it? And yet, I think blogging about events are the record we need to help us remember events over the year.

If I read a blog entry I wrote, then most likely I’ll remember that day as well. It’s like making dreams real (by writing them down when we wake up!) Great reading your stuff — Marge

I agree, Marge – I’ve been keeping a journal (you know, “paper and pen” ;-)) since I was a teenager and am amused at how much I’ve grown in some areas – and how some other facets of my personality have stayed the same, e.g., my obsession with not making mistakes.

Thank you for your comment!Debi

P.S. Are you any relation to the Mercurios in NJ or is it just a more common name than I realized? (My aunt married into that family name.)